Improvement in harvesters



2 SheetsSheet l. S. JOHNS TON. HARVESTER.

No. 79,575. Patented July 7, 1868.

222295.586.- mitirt wfflws 2Sheets-Sheet'2. S. JOHNSTON. v

HARVESTER. No. 79,575. Patented July 7, 1 868.

7ZZZ '77/eJaea In; 0712 07:

SAMUEL JOHNSTON, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

Letters Patent No. 79,575, dated July 7, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT m sinvr'srsss.

' flit: same return it in time 32mm 33mm ant muting part at the same.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAYWONCERN:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL JOHNSTON, of Syracuse, in the State of NewYork, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Construction ofSelf-Rakes; and I do hereby declare the following to bee. full and exactdescription of the sam'e. referencebeing had to the annexed drawings,making a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 represents aperspective view oi my entire machine.

Figure 2, the attachment of the grain-wheel.

Figure 3, a detached view of the device for elevating thecutting-apparatus and gear-frame.

Figure 4, a detached view of the double cam-way and the eccentric foroperating the movable part of the cam.

Figure 5, a detached view of the metallic connecting-piece, to which thewoodenrake-arms are attached. A represents the platform of my machine,attached to a finger-beam, B, of the usual form. The fin'ger-bar isattached to the gear-frame C, bybolts,-inthe usual .manner. Thegear-firemen attached to the axle-plate D, so as to slide up and downupon it perpendicularly.

The outer side of the platform is supported upon the grain-wheel. Thereis a bracket, 3, 2, over which the axle-plate, 2, slides. A pawl isattached to the axle-plate 2, and works into ratchets in the bracket 3.A- spring holds the pawl into the ratchet. f The operation of theseparts is such that by elevating the platform the pawl slips into theratchet, and sustains the platform at the desired elevation.

The-platform and gear-frame are made to move up and down on theaxle-plate by means of a vertical screw-shaft, E, having a hand-wheel ontop. The lower end of the screw-shaft passes through a nut attached tothe backside of the gear-frame. There is a collar on the screw-shaft E,at G, which works upon a bracket, H, extendingv from the axle-plate andit is by this collar and bracket that the upper end of the sciew E issupported, and to which the gear-frame is this adjustably suspended.

The driver. can, from his seat, turn the hand-wheel and screw E to theright or left, and thus raise or lower the gear-frame, platform, andcutting-apparatus relating to the axle-plate The tongue I is attached tothe gear-frame by a bolt, K, at its rear end, and the brace-piece L isattached by a bolt, 1, at theshoe-of the finger-beam. A slotted wedge,M, is attached to the upper side of the tongue.

A cast-iron bracket, N, is attached to the gear-frame, and a bolt, 'n,passes through this bracket and the slot of the wedge-pieceM. 'Aconnecting-rod, 0, extends from the heel of the slotted wedge M tothe-shbrt arm I of the bent lever P Q. I

An upright notched or toothed board, R, is attached-to the foot-board S.The lever P Q extends beyond this board, so that the driver can work itfreely. A, series of teeth is placed in'the board R, and the bent leverP Q has sufiicient spring tofit into the notches and be forced up and'.down, and-remain wherever it is placed against the notches. By thisarrangement the platform and cutting-apparatus can be tilted upon the"axles of the two supporting-wheels, and the proper pitch given to thefingers.

My invention relates, first, to the improved. mode of.adju sting andsustaining the platform of reapingmachines for difier'ent heights ofcut, and consists, first, of a .pawl held in position by a spring andratchet, in connection with the sliding action of the ground-wheel; and,secondly, of a vertical screw, working through a I projection attachedto'the axle-plate of the main wheel, and a nut attached to thegear-frame; thirdly, an

improved mode of fastening the tongue by attaching its rear end to thegear-frame by a bolt, on which -it vibrates, and attaching thetongue-brace by a bolt to the inner shoe, in combination with a bentlever, connecting rod, and slotted wedge, and a fender-board, withnotches or steps; fourthly, in the employment of an eccentric-movementfor causing the rake-arms automatically to operate the movable cam-wayat the will of the driver, instead of the driver directly operating themovablecam-way.

This arrangement prevents the roller, at the heel of the rake-arms, fromever coming in contact'withthe point of the movable cam-way, andprevents the possibility of two revolving arms next to 'each other insuccession from following that cam-way by'which they would be made todischarge the grain from the platform.

The rake-arms T T are attached to the central rake-head by means ofmetallic connecting-pieces U U, having slots uu in them, and bolts,whereby the rakeheads can be adjusted up or down, so as to suit thegathering or discharging of the grain, as described. This adjustment isespecially important with the employment of a double cam-way, as shownin the drawing, one cam-way for guiding the revolving rake-heads, whichmerely gather and do not discharge, and the other cam-way for guidingthose rake-heads which both gather and discharge. 7 g p v V Therevolving rake-heads are guided, while gathering and discharging thegrain, by projections from the lower side of the metallic rake-armspassing into one of the two cam-ways, as heretofore patented by me, onecam-way, V V V guiding those rake-heads which gather and do notdischarge the grain, and the other camway, 111 w w", guiding thoserake-heads which both gather and discharge the grain. I also make aportion of one of these cam-ways movable at the will of the driver, soas to cause any gathering-arm, at pleasure, to discharge or not. Themovablejcam-piece o is moved, so as to permit the rake-arm to discharge,by means of an eccentric, a, turning on a pivot, and operated by meansof a lever, 3 and cord x. That eccentric is so constructed that by thedriver pulling the cord, the eccentric ,is turned in front of themovable cam-way, and the roller attached to the rake-arm, in revolving,carries the eccentric on, and this eccentric moves the movable cam-way11, so as to cause the roller of the rake-arm to pass on the inside ofthe movable cam-way o, and thus the rake discharges thegrain from theplatform.

The movable cam-way o is restored to its position by a spring actingdirectly upon the cam-way. The roller on the heel of the rake-armretains the eccentric in position until the next succeeding rake haspassed the point at which the eccentric can act upon the movable cam,and thus no two arms in succession can discharge the grain from theplatform, no matter how negligent the driver may be, and it isimpossible for the roller on the rake-arm tocomc in contact with theextremity of the movable cam-way.

Having thus described my improvement, what I claim as my invention, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1.'Thc combination of the grain-wheel, bracket, ratchet, andspring-pawl, for raising and'lowcring the outer end of the platform,

2. The combination of the bent lever, slott'cd wedge, and hinged tongue,for tilting the platform and cutting-apparatus. l v

3. Thc combination of an adjustable grain-\vlieel, a platform, andgear-frame, movable perpendicularly up and down on the main axleplatc,-and a' hinged tongue and lever for tilting the platform andcutting-apparatus.

4. The employment of a double cam-way or track, provided with a movableswitch, adapted to be moved by the revolving rakeand reel-arm,for-changing the path of said arm. l i

"5. The eccentric-lever m, or its equivalent, for operating the movablecam-Way, substantially as described.

SAMUEL JOHNSTON.

Witnesses:

Gnonon E. Boomer, W. A. A. McKINLEY.

